Fifth classic without miracle

BarcelonaA bitter fifth derby of the season. A Barça team with just nine first-team players competed brilliantly against a more resourceful Real Madrid, who took the victory at the Palau Blaugrana (89-91). The Whites' accuracy in the final 75 seconds decided a derby that was as tense as it was exciting.

Joel Parra once again played a superb game, but Barça's display wasn't enough. The Blaugrana team, exhausted in the final stretch, lacked their shooting from outside. Tomás Satoransky also shone on a night when the home side felt the lack of participation from Kevin Punter and Jabari Parker in the decisive stretch.

Real Madrid shot 15 more free throws than Barça (13-28). Sergi Llull had a key performance. Furthermore, Real Madrid also knew how to capitalize on the contributions of Edy Tavares and Andrés Feliz. The Dominican point guard scored 9 points in the final 10 minutes. The Endesa League leader took advantage of the victory to secure his place in the play-off.

"We need to get a better grip on some details, but we're competing very well. I'm very happy with the team's spirit and how we've been reinventing ourselves. It hurts to lose another close game, but we'll keep persisting and fighting," analyzed Joan Peñarroya. The coach was without Juan Núñez, Nico Laprovittola, Chimezie Metu, Jan Vesely, and Dame Sarr, who left for the United States on Saturday without the club's permission. The young Italian, whose contract expires in June, will play in Portland at the Nike Hoops Summit, an exhibition game that serves as a showcase for promising young players. "It's a big disappointment for the club," acknowledged the coach. Forced by circumstances, the Egarense native called up Raul Villar, Sayon Keita, and Mathieu Grujicic, all 17 years old, to complete the squad. The contribution of the Catalan point guard, who scored four points in 7.23 minutes, was encouraging.

The first quarter made both teams' intentions clear, as they prioritized offense over defense. Real Madrid took advantage of Llull's accuracy to open up an initial seven-point lead (6-13), but Barça knew how to react. The Blaugrana found good shooting positions for Punter, who added 11 of the home team's first points (24-20).

Chus Mateo exploited the strengths of his bench players to turn the score around during a less attractive second quarter. The visiting team took advantage of Barça's turnovers and their worsening percentages to take the initiative. Lacking accuracy in their shooting, the Catalan team tried to match their opponent's scoring pace. Satoransky was one of the few Barça players who knew how to read the opposing defense (39-42).

Peñarroya, upset with the refereeing, was penalized with a technical foul (46-51). Barça's inside players struggled to limit Edy Tavares's output around the basket. The Madrid center racked up points, rebounds, and fouls. Tensions grew with 15 minutes remaining when the referees had to intervene to break up a brawl (50-59). Fall, extra motivated in his fight with the Cape Verdean, was penalized with two technical fouls and was therefore sent off (61-68).

Far from giving up, Barça showed their grit to reach the final stretch with a chance of victory (77-76). Joel Parra exemplified the Barça character better than anyone. The Blaugrana team displayed courage against an opponent that was more measured with its resources. Without Facu Campazzo on the court for the entire fourth quarter, Andrés Feliz took an unexpected turn.

Two three-pointers from Llull and Musa put Barça on the ropes with 35 seconds left (83-88). Despite fighting until the end, the Blaugrana team couldn't pull off the feat against the Endesa League leaders. Two missed free throws by Deck added to the excitement of the final 5.8 seconds, during which the home side couldn't recover the ball in time to attempt a shot that would have given them the victory.

The New Congost does not fail

Baxi Manresa returned to winning ways in the Endesa League and did so at the Nou Congost against Casademont Zaragoza in a match that they dominated from the third quarter (95-83). The victory allows the Bagenc team to remain in the lead. play-off. Bàsquet Girona, for its part, lost on the Baskonia court (92-76).